David Byrne took a spare, direct approach on his third song-based solo album, which lent his work an intimacy but did little to restore his commercial prospects, despite a first single, "Angels," that was a ringer for the
Talking Heads song "Once in a Lifetime." In fact, the limited instrumentation and focus on
Byrne's voice tended to create difficulties with his typically quirky lyrics -- with the words in close-up, one wanted them to make some kind of sense. In a denser musical structure, such as the mbaqanga-flavored "You & Eye," one might share his enjoyment, but on other tracks with less to offer aurally, the disturbing question, "What is he talking about?" became inescapable. ~ William Ruhlmann